Congresswoman Lee on Voter Disenfranchisement and the Challenge of Electoral Votes

Washington, D.C. –Today Congresswoman Barbara Lee joined with Representatives Sheila Jackson-Lee,Maxine Waters, Raúl Grijalva, Jim McGovern, Pramila Jayapal and Jamie Raskin in formally challenging the certification of the electoral votes of several states and released the following statement:

“During this presidential election cycle, hundreds of thousands of minority voters were disenfranchised before and on Election Day. It’s unconscionable that more than 50 years after the signing of the Voting Rights Act, people of color are still denied their constitutional right to cast a ballot.

"The use of malfunctioning voting machines, the restriction of provisional ballots, the improper purging of voter rolls, and the widely reported incidents of intimidation and misinformation at the polls amount to widespread efforts to disenfranchise and suppress voters across the country.

"Additionally, I am gravely concerned by the overwhelming evidence showing Russia interfered with our election. History has shown us that democracy is fragile. It is our duty as members of Congress to protect the integrity of our electoral process. This starts with expanding access to the ballot box and defending our elections from enemies both domestic and foreign.

"The people of the 13th Congressional district elected me to speak for them in Congress. In the face of widespread disenfranchisement and reports of Russian interference with our election, I formally challenged electoral vote certifications during today’s Joint Session of Congress.”